Renewable filter unit



I E.'J. SWEETLAND ET AL RENEWABLE FILTER UNIT Original Filed Nov. 27, 1923 4 tsh t 1 gwgantm 164 7 7' E. J. 'SWEETLAND ET AL 6,3 8

RENEWABLE FILTER UNI'I.

Original Filed Nov. 27. 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 7/ III/2 igrt Ernest J Swedland Geazye H. ti'reenkayh 'Oct. 1 ,1927, 1,646,378

E. J. SWEETLAND ET AL RENEWABLE FILTER UNIT Original Filed Nov. 27, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I I I I 1 I I I I I I I I I/ W/:.

I 1 I I I I I I I I 1927' E. J. SWEIETLA'ND ET A I RENEWABLE FILTER UNIT Original Filed Nov. 27, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 George I fi sthma 18, 1921.

' UNITED STATES PAT ENTJ OF-FICE.

ERNEST J. swEETLAnn, or HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANILyAND GEORGE E. .en En: HALGE, or NORTH mmeron. NEW JEnsEY; sun GBEENHALGH ASSIGNOB 'ro sen) swEErLANn.

RENEWABLE rural; 1mins.

Original application filed November 27, 1923, stmi- No. 077,344. mv'mea' mi this application filed August 27, .1927.

10 or cake until they become so thick as to,

render the element unfit for further use infiltering the oil until the cake has been re-.

moved. It-has been customary heretofore,

on account of the expense of such filtering element, to remove the filter unit as a whole, open andclean the same and then replace the same unit and element in the path of the oil, or else'open the casing, take out .the filtering. element and clean it, clean out the'inside of the casing, then reassemble the element in the casing and close the casing. It is, however, diflicult in either case to completely remove the cake without injuring the fabric or the filtering element, and at best the fabric 25 is never, under practical working conditions, thoroughly cleaned,-with the result that the filter never operates at maximum efliciency except the first time it is placed in service.

It is,'therefore', the purpose of the present invention to provide a cheap, renewable.

, filter unit whichcan be removed asa .unit

from the path of the 'oil when it becomes unfit for further use and replaced by a complete new unit. 1

Another object is to ,provide -an' eflicient filter" unit for the purpose, which can be cheaply manufactured and therefore economically discarded for further use. I p

Another object of the invention is toprovidea filter unit in .which the filtering ele-' ment is permanently sealed in'a substantially ilnperforate casing thereby insuring that the ter and providing a reliable guarantee of the efliciency and operation ofthe filter.

, appear as the description'of the invention proceeds. Y

The invention is described and illustrated H by way of example in connection with the 7 engine wherein the deleterious solids are refmoved-from the oil without removing the gaseous fluids. In a-ttaining'this result, the.

;may be' removed from the circulatory sys annot be tampered with'or injured.-

Bpace-is 'efleete'd lubricating y m f an internal combustion.-

Serial no. 215,972.

oil from the en ine, and whereby the oil used 1n lubricating e internal combustion engine may be constantly and permanently freed of the deleterious matter with which it may become'co'nta'minated during the operation of the engine, with the result that the oil" maintainedat all times" in a substantia y'" cleancondition. -It will be obvious however that the principles of the invention are apphcable to the filtration of other liquid or;

lubricating oil of the internal combustion" engine'or other machineis'const antly purified without removing it from the circulatory system by causin all or a. portion of'the' oilto pass throng a filter capable of inter- 7 cepting the deleterious matter which forms as a deposit or cake on said filter, whereupon at intervals the filter unit as a .whole 'tem, 'taking with it the deposit. or cake. in situ upon the filtering element.- Or, stating the matter more specifically, in attaining the object of the invention as appliedto internal combustion engines, .we pro'vlde a lubricating system which is characterized by the fact, amon others, that the filter by whic ht'lthe." impur ties are removed from the oil may be bodily removed as a unit from the system and discar led when it has become-7S0 filled. with impurities that the passage of-oil there through is unduly impeded. The filter'pro-' yided for this purposei'sso constrpcted and arranged that its-removal andireplacem'ent" by anew. filter. can be accomplished 'easil and quickly,*and;so that it cannotbe opeiie eleanedor tamperedwith' without'destroying the unit, therebyforestalling any illconsidered attempts to clean or repairtheisame which might in'ui-e or destroy the efliciency of the umt, audit is cheap. to make 's'o'that' it may. be discarded without unnecessary ex -In "a 'Ply figra. we of this kih l I I -.automo,1le compactness is of primeimpor- 'Various other objects and advantages will tanee'f and we have. found that the efliciency of new'filter fabric is so much greater'than that'of'a :fabric which has repe'atedl' been cleaned that" a great saving-in weig 't and y supplying a cheaply constructed filter which can be. rejected and re plioediby. 1. new one atfrequent means for supportingit'.

.ple, into the depression 18; aud o):

In addition a; this distinct advantage it is.

' obviously a much cleaner and quicker operation to remove and replace the replaceable filter unit than it is to clean even the most 8 efliciently constructed cleanable type filter.

Another advantage of substitutm anew filter unit for the old and of buil ing the unit so as to prevent attempted cleaning is that when cleanin is attempted on the 'old filters, the filter fa r'ic is liable to be injured so that a portion of the oil may flow through the filtering element without having thesolld giirticles removed therefrom and as this con- 'tion is not readily detected b unit may permit injury to the bearings while the car owner is depending upon the filter,

by permitting the sediment and solid par-' e; I I Figure 1 is a side' elevation, more or. less bustion engine having our invention applied thereto. 4 I

Fig. 12 is an elevation, partly 1n section a of one formof our, improved filter and the Fig. 3 is a top plan view partly insection,

"Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevation, partly in section of the top ortion of said filter;

Fig; 5 is a front eevation, partly in section, showing another desirable form of our filter mounted on its support and connected to the pipes of a lubricating system or the of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a preferred form of sup 1y pipe'coupling. g

In the ;em dirhents of Figs. 1 to 4, the invention is illustrated in connect on w th anautomobile engine shown in Fig. 1,wh1ch comprises, the cylinder .block5, the crank 6, exhaust manifold7,'fan8, and -radi-' V the lowest point-in the crank case,j ;f0

the inex-' perienced this incomplete or 'ine cient filter 38, leading to a distilling diagrammatic in form, of an internal com-' Fig.6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 shell .46 are preferably bent outwardly and free'tli 'l fro e 01 m (rolled or crimped edges of the hea Lexam y it! outlet side said pump is connected to the pipe 15, from which branch pipes such as 16 lead to the various bearings to be lubricated,

--Branching from the pipe is a pipe 18,

to the crank case through it, but this valvewill open if the pressure against which the oil pump 10 is working is abnormally increased onaccount of exc'essiveviscosity of the oil or due to highspeedof the engine;

' As shown in the drawin s,- the pipe 20 leads througli the T fitting 2% to an oilgage 28, mounted in the instrument board 29. Connected with the other outlet of the T fitting 27 is a pipe 31in which may be .interposed a loaded valve 32 "or other resistance :nean's hereinafter described, and a cook 33 This'pipe 31 is connected to the intake end of the filter 35, capable of removing carbon, metal particles, sediment, water and other deleteriousmatter from the oil. At itsoutletend, the filter 35' may be connected, prefv erably through a sight-feed ipe 37 toa ip evice 40 w 'ch is mounted adjacent to and is heated by the exhaust manifold 7 or leading directly back, to the crank case. The detail construction of the distilling device 40-need not be here in described as it forms no part of the pres-. ent. invention, further than to say' that it serves to distill o'utof the lubricating oil the major part .of the gasoline, kerosene and other light hydrocarbons, and any water which may pass through the filter, the distillate escaping through the pi e 41 may be 10':

collected in a suitable receptac efor may be through the pipe 42.

Having described the mamier in which 111 the various parts of the lubricating system shown in Fig. 1 are connected and co-oper-' ate with one another, the details of the preferred form of embodiment ofthe filters and "the means b which they are removablfllu mounted on t e dash 44 of the vehicle wi now be described.

Referring to Figures 2, 3 and 4, the casing of the filter'isshown as comprising a cylindrical shell 46, preferably, of sheet metal to 121 the ends of which are permanently attached dished heads 48 and 49. The ends of the,

the flanges us provided are 611' "and 124 49, the joints thus formedbeing sealed in a convenient manner .as by-rolling or brazing or solderin The'members 48 snags; are provided with necks 53 and 54 having openings therethrough which serve as intake at and outlet passages of the .filter. Before the upper head 48is attached to the casing 46, the filtering element, or filtering materials, which maybe of any. desired form, are installed therein. In the particular form of filter shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the filtering elementor filtering materials are supported upon a foraminous plate 56, which rests on the inside of the dished head 49. This plate 56 supports a plurality of tubular drainage members 58,59 and 60 which are concentrically arranged. These drainage members, which may be conveniently formed of foraminous sheet metal, are covered with any suitable filter .cloth, such as cotton, canvas, or .drill. -This fabric may or may not be treated chemically or otherwiseto improve its filtering qualities. It is understood that instead of filter cloth the casing may be packed with any suitable filtering medium, however itis preferred to use a filteringelement of the general form shown in the drawings'which comprises the filter cloth 62 made of a plurality of pieces, sewed together as indicated at 63 and then assembled over the drainage members 58, 59 and 60. Within the drainage member '58, the filter cloth formsa bag, the bottom 64 of which covers the top of the central portion of the foraininous plate 56; and the portipns of the foraminous plate between the drainage mem- .bers 58 aiid 59 and betyve'en the drainage members 59'and 60, are similarly covered by the filter fabric; while the outer edge of the filterfabric is held against the outside of the drainage member 60 by a ring of felt or other suitable material, interposed betweenthe fabric and the shell 46. In order to hold the tubular drainage members 58,.

examp e, one made of two pieces 67 and ;68

so mounted, "there may be provided within.

of stamped metal of the form shown, slotted,

and fastened together in the form of across.

Other cheap and eflective forms of filtering element will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art and obviously they may be used instead of thepartic'ular type ust described withoutdeparting from the spiritof our invention.

Although a filteir shown and describe.

ofthe kind we have is preferably used with its axis in a vertical position as shown in.

the drawings, it may under some conditions be found desirable to mount the filter with its axis horizontal. the escape oftrapped airv when the filter is the dished head 49 a tube 69 of the form shown, connectingmith the outlet through the neck 54 in the head 49. When this tube In orderto facilitate I 69 is provided, the outside of the filter casing is appropriately marked so as to indi cate that at should be mounted in a position corresponding to theupright position of the tube 69. e i

p As. hereinbefore stated, the filter which has just been described is constructed with the idea that" it will be removed and thrown away after it has been used sufliciently long to become so filled with impurities extracted 677,344. In order to illustratethe operation of the filter in the system however, a preferredmethod for supporting the filter unit will be described. As shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the support for the filter may comprise a lower bracket 70 and an upper bracket 71 which may be securedto the dash-44 by bolts 73, or may be supported in any other suitable manner. The lower bracket 70 supports a removable seat 75 which may be secured in a hole in the bracket by means of a set screw 76. The seat 75 is provided with a passage therethrough which at its lower end communicates with the pipe 38, the endof which is permanently secured to said seat in any suitable manner; and at its upper end said pas sageopens into an enlarged cavity in the seat 75 having therein an annular recess adapted to receive a gasket 78.. The end ofthe neck54 is adapted to enter the cavity in the top, of the seat'75, and the edges of said neck rest on the gasket 78' whereby a tight connection is made between the outlet'end of the filter and the seat 75. The upper bracket '71, which is providedwith a yoke portion 80 as shown, carries a sliding .feed

connection 82, which'may'be of the form shown and which is provided with an opening 83 with which the pipe 31 is in permanentcommunication. The bottom of this sliding feed connection 82 is provided with an annular cavity at the top of which is'in 'serteda gasket 84 adaptedv o be engaged by. the u per end ofv-the neck 53 of the filter. The filed connection 82 may be moved vertically in-the bracket yoke 80 by means of a screw 85, threaded in'the top ofthe bracket 1Zoke and provided at its upper end with a nurled head 86 and at its lower end with a flange 87 engaging the top. of the feed connection 82 and lips 88 provided thereon. With this arrangement, it will be obvious lac that the feed connection'82 may be raised and lowered by means of the screws 85 for the purpose of permitting a used filter to be I removed and a new one inserted." By screwing the screw downwardly after the filter has been inserted between the seat 75 and the sliding feed connection 82, the gaskets 78 and 84 are put under compression and leaka e at the outletand inlet openings of the'fil ter is effectively prevented.

The construction and the function of the loaded valve or other resistance means 32 will now be described. This means, ob viously, may beof many forms, such as an ad- 'ustable valve, fixed restricted orifice, springloaded valve or the like. We have shown in cross section in Fig. 4 an appropriate form of valve comprising a casing having a cavity therein which at one end is threaded as indicated at 90, and at the other end communicates with a passage 91. Gommunication between the cavity and the passage 91 is controlled by means of a ball valve member 93, which is yieldingly held in the position shown by means of a spring 94 pm;

under compression between .the ball 93 and a perforated plug 96 adapted to be screwed into the threaded portion of the valve casing. There is also screwed into the threaded portion 90 of the casing a perforated flange cap 97 with which a gasket 98 cooperates. As hereinbefore stated, this loaded valve 32 is inter osed in the ipe 31; and it will be obvious rom Fig. 4 ow the ends of the ipe 31 are "connected to the said valve. he purpose of the valve 32 is to'insure that the path of the oil through the filter will alwaysofier at least a considerable resistance to the, flow of the oil therethrough. A new, clean filter inserted in the system may offer at first comparatively little resistance to the passage of oil therethrough, and if the valve 32 or its equivalent were not employed, it might happen in some cases "that the path of oil .through the filter' would offer so much less resistance to the flow of oil than the aths for the flow of oil throu h the en 'ne earings', that the ressureo oil supplied, to the latter would lubricate said bearings. 'By providing the loaded valve 32, this ossibility is prevented. In the form of em odiment illustrated in Figs. 5 to 7, the filter casing comprises a pair of rectangular members 100 and 101 preferably of sheet metal fastened together v .to form a fluid tight non-openable casing 102 by means of flanges 103 and 104, by

crimp1ng the 'one over the other, as shown,

or by'brazing, soldering or the like.

-An inlet opening for the dirty oil is provided M105, and a flanged outlet opening -for-'the'-filtered oil is shown at 106. The

drainage tube 107 for the filter elements 108' lfprojectsf into the flanged opening 106 and e insuflicient to sufiiciently' eme-1e is partially supported thereby as. indicated in Fig. 6. The filter elements 108 which are held in spaced rleation upon the tube 107, consist of hollow drainage members 109 covered with a suitable filter fabric 110, '1

which may carry upon its surfac a filter aid or dressing, such as kieselguhr or the like, the filtering elements being adapted in any case to remove all suspended solids and deleterious matter from the oil as it passes through the casing. The drainage members 109 communicate with the draina e tube 107, so as to discharge onl the purified oil from the casing at the out et 106.

To facilitate the assembling "of the filter, the tube 107 is provided with a collar 111, which provides an abutment for the casing member 102, when the filter is sealed, and the member 101 is provided with a stamping 112, which projects into the end'of the tube 1 107 to position and support the same in the casing. A gasket 113 carried on the stamplng 112 provides a fluid tight seal for one end of the tube 107.

For attaching the outlet connections to the casing the tube 107 is internally threaded at 114 and a hollow bolt 115 is arranged toscrew into the tube; to hold the discharge connection 116 against the filter casing. The hollow bolt 115 is provided with a cross bore 117 so as to discharge the filtered oil into the connection 116 in an position to which it may be turned.

'A sight glass 118 is inserted in the connection 116 which is provided with a' suitable opening 119 through which the glass' 118 and the oil flowing th'erethrough may be observed Suitable gaskets 122 are provided as indicated to form a fluid tight seal 'connection and a union121 which screws.

into the end of the connection and provides communication between the connection and the discharge pipe 38.

The inlet connection 125 is attached to the casing. by means of a hollow bolt 126" which screws into a threaded thimble 127" in the wall of the casing to force the .connection 125'into fluid tight engagement with a gasket 128 positioned'between the connec tion andthe wall of the casing. A cross bore 129. in the bolt 126provides a passage for the oil betweenithe connection 125 and the interior bore of the bolt 126 in an position to which the bolt-may be-turne A mpple 130' screws into the connection 125 at its lower end to provide a connection w1th the o1l suppl pipe 31. This nipple is provided with a oaded' valve 132 ressed into the opening 31, from the supp y pipe by a spring 133. An adjustable screw plu 134 is provided for permitting pro r a justment of the valve, and a hole 135 outlet connection may however be used.

To supportthe filter unit 102, and hold it in position for easyremoval and replace ment, a bracket 140, is secured in an convenient position relative to the machine by 'means of the bolts 141. The ends of the bracket project outward at 142 and are pro 7 videdwith crimped edges 143 to receive and support the flanges 103 and 104 of the filter casing. To prevent the casing 102 from accidentally sliding out of the holder, bolts 144 are provided which extend from the upper projection 142 to the lower, projection 142, and are secured in the projections by the nuts 145.

To remove the" filter unit from the ma-v chine when it is desired to discard the same the inlet and outlet pipes are disconnected and one of the bolts 144 removed, whereupon the casing may be slid sidewise out of the crimp 143. The term unit as used in the clai s of this specification is intended to incl fiile both the filter and easing which are discarded as a unit and it is to be noted that by discarding the entire filter and easing,

the sediment collected upon the filter as well system where they may as that which has settled in the bottom of the casing is entirely removed from the sys tem whereas the discarding of only the filter without the casing as has heretofore been proposed, may remove only the sediment collected upon the filter fabric, and. leave the heavier particles which have settled into the bottom of the casin in the circulatory be stirredup by v1- brations of the machine and carried again into the circulation. v h To forestall attempts to clean the filter or, to otherwi tamper with the-operat1on thereof withou discarding the unit,the casing is sealed as heretofore described during the process of manufactureso that it cannot be opened without destroying the same;

By describing the filter casing in the specification and claims as imperforate except for the irlet and outlet openings and as nonopenable,we mean to define a filter casing which is ermanently closed by some means such as; olding and pressing or splnnmgthe sheet'metal parts together, or soldering,

welding, or the like, so that the casing cannot conveniently be opened or closed agam without destroying it, unless unusual mechanical methods not ordinarily available to the layman are resorted to and so that the filter elements cannot be removed therefrom; the particular idea being to assure that the unit cannot be tampered with and will be discarded when it has once served itsipurpose. Of course, a drain plug or the like so small as not to permit tampering with or removal of the filter element may be inserted in the filter casing without departing from or 102, located in the oil line, from which the oil, substantially free of deleterious mat- 1 ter, flows back to the crank case. As illustrated in the drawings, the effective area-of the filtering elements is several times greater than the cross-sectional area of the enclosing casing, so that under ordinary circumstances, the filters will not become so filled with impurities as to interfere with their function until the machine has been used for a considerable period of time, for example, in the case of anautomobile, operated under ordinary circumstances, until the car has been run ten thousand miles or more.

The proper time to remove the filter unitand replace it by a new one can be determined in different; ways; for example, by observing in the sight feed pipes 37 or 118, the volume and condition ofthe oil coming from the filter by taking a sample of oil from the crank ,casejand observing its condition, or u 'o'fi 'an arbitrary basis according to the lengt "of'time the filter has been in use or the number of miles which the auto-' mobile has been driven since the filter was ,inserted. It is a matterof only a few-moments work to remove the filter and insert a new one in the manner hereinbefore described, and this removal and insertion can be attended to by persons unskilled iii the filter art without chance of improper as-.

There is thus provided a new;

sembly.- method of and means for constantly removing' the deleterious matter, such as carbon, metal particles, water, etc., which tends to accumulate in the lubricating oil of an in ternal combustion engine, or othermachi'nes without withdrawing the oil fronr the oil circulatory system of the machine;

unit per se following a requirement 'for' division made in our copendingapplication the embodiments of our-invention as applied to an internal combustion engine, it is to be understood that the apparatus and pros-- This application is filed to claim the filter y ii While we have described an illustrated f ment being less herein described is not limited to such use butmay be applied to the filtering of oil in various ways, and that modification may be made in the embodiments illustrated without departing'from the spirit of the invention or the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claime d is: r

1. As an article-of manufacture, a chea discardable filter un it for -use in the lubricating system of an automotive internal combustion engine or other machine comprising a nonopenable, sealed sheet metal casing having a filter element therein capable of removing the solid impuritiesfrom the oil Zpassing therethrough, said filter eleof f sufiici'ent area to accumulation of solids from the oil for" a period equivalent to several thousand miles of running of the automobile before becoming clogged, and inlet and outlet openings through the walls of saidcasing whereby the! casing may be connected to or disconnected from the lubricating system to per- .Eiermit economical discarding of a clo ged mit economical discarding of a clogged file ter unit and re laceme'nt with a new unit;

2. As an article of manufacture, a cheap discardable filter unit for use in the lubr1- eating systemof an internal combustion engine comprising \a sheet metal casing, the v parts of which are permanently sealed to-' gether, an inexpensive filter element in said casing ada ted to remove' solid impurities from them] passing therethrongh, said element and easing being adapted to receive and'hold the solid. impurities removed from the oil'until permanently discarded from said system, said casing mal'siz'e in the walls of said'casing, whereby the casing may be connected to or dis connected from said lubricating system to ter unit and replacement with a new terv unit. a

3. Asanarticle of manufacture, a cheap discardable filter unit, for use in the labiacatin system of a machine comprising a filter. e ement capable of removing the solid particles from the oil passing therethrough,

- of said system, permanently r filter element andhaving'no openings" 7 and a'filter casing ofsuflicient strength to v ressures' withstand the normal lubricating therein of sufiicient capacity to permit the being imperforate exeeptforinlet and outlet openings of norsignatureto this 7 GEQRG H'. GREENHALG to said filter; element, said filter element be of relatively large area as compared with the size of said casing, and inlet and outlet openings intosaid casing whereby thefilter'umt may be quickly connected to or disconnected from said 'luhricat' to emit economical discardin o a clogged lter unit and replacement with a newunit. v 4. As an article of manufacture, a sealed discardable filterunit for use in the lubricating system of an automotive internal combustion engine comprising a filter element capable of removing the solid particles from the oil passing therethrough and of suflicient capacity to function fora period cquivalentzto several thousand miles running of the'automobile, 'andafilter casing of sufiicient strength to withstand the normal lubricating pressures of said. system, permanently sealed around said filter element and having no openings therein of sufficient capacity to permit access to said filter element. 'and and outlet openings into said casing whereby the filter unit-may be connected to said lubricating unit being constructed to discardingof the unit w en the filter ele menthas become clogged and replacement with a new unit.

5. As an articlepf manufacture, a sealed 'discardable filter limit. for the lubricating system of a zirabhiiieieomprising ,a sealed non-cleanable filter ca a filter element in said casing adaptedio remove the deleterious solids; from the oil through and to retain said solids on the surface of said element, said-casing" being-imrforate except for inletand outlet open-- mgs. therein of approximately the size of the oil conduits of said system, and means for cooperating with the conduits of said system whereby thefilter unit may'be connected to'ordisconnected from said system to permit economical discarding of a used filter unit with the solids 'u situ therein and replacement with a new unit. I In testimony whereof I have signature to this 'ification. 7

' ERNE T J. SWEETLAND;

system, said mit economical assing there- 'taccesa In testimony whereof I have aflixed my 

